Todd and Nick Ruger are on the run after narrowly escaping the war in New Colorado, where they were implicated in the assassination of Chancellor Shaffer. Todd is gravely ill and Nick has serious injuries, but that's the least of their problems. They're alone with dwindling supplies and facing the harsh winter bearing down on them far north in Yellowknife Protectorate. Just when it seems they're trapped between the proverbial rock and hard place, they are offered refuge with a doctor in the isolated town of Elk's Ridge. As they heal, they're offered a fresh start in Elk's Ridge. But just as they begin to rebuild their lives, tragedy strikes. Victor Raleigh, the new Vice-Chancellor of New Colorado, knows all about Nick's psychic abilities, and he'll settle for nothing less than total control over Nick. He's aligned himself with a vicious creature, a type of psychic vampire capable of wielding control over individuals such as Nick. When Nick is betrayed and captured, Todd sees no alternative but to head back into the war zone to rescue him. Will Nick be the same man Todd loves after Raleigh's pet psychic vampire is through with him? Can Nick accept the fact Todd can love him after what Raleigh forces him to do, or will his guilt consume and destroy him?

Chained Hearts

This part of the river was too deep to drive a wagon across and was deep enough a horse had to swim. Nick weighed right around two hundred pounds. Todd had no idea how much the cage weighed, but he guessed at least twice what his mate did. That thing was going to sink and sink fast.


He got a glimpse of the cage listing sideways and traveling downstream as well as sinking at the same time. The tarp fluttered behind the cage. Nick was frantically alternating between yanking on and kicking against the bars. The water was murky, churned up from the mountain runoff and now the cage banging around near the bottom.


Clouds of dirt blossomed and hung in the water. There wasn’t enough sunlight getting through to do much more than reflect small sparks off the cage bars.


Chapter 40